Did Coca-Cola reimagine Santa Claus?
Does Santa Claus wear red and white because of a popular soda company? Does his belly shake like a bowl full of jelly because of an advertising campaign?
Christmas season has more myths, urban legends and stories than Hallmark has variations of a single holiday movie script. On second thought, maybe not. However, one thing is for sure, the modern-day Santa Claus is an advertising phenomenon.
History of Santa
To understand how we got to today’s debate over who is responsible for Santa’s outfit, we need a Cliffs Note review of Kris Kringle’s early days.
From claims of Norman Rockwell creating the heavyset Claus to a Coca-Cola artist updating Kringle’s appearance, one thing seems to be certain – Santa Claus is based on an actual saint.
St. Nicholas – another nickname for Santa – was a 4th-century Greek bishop. Some historians have wondered if Santa Claus could be based on the Norse god Odin, who had a long, white beard, and traveled at high speeds across the night sky.
For this story, we’ll stick with the common belief that St. Nicholas was the inspiration for today’s jolly old elf. The first appearance of St. Nicholas as the holiday gift giver can be found in a 15th century British carol, “Sir Christëmas,” which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.
St. Nicholas’ appearance contrasted drastically from today’s outfit, with him wearing traditional garb of the era – a long, flowing gown, with a miter as headgear. He was a few hundred pounds lighter than Kris Kringle, too.
St. Nicholas’ tale mixes fact with legend. Stories credit him with reviving dead children, destroying pagan temples and saving sailors from dying at sea.
He was persecuted for his defense of orthodoxy.
Puritan attack
After separating from the Catholic Church, members of the Church of England launched an attack on the celebration of Christmas. Puritans believed it was created by Catholics and not supported by scripture. This led to a break in celebrating the holiday for some people. The Puritan assault on Christmas may have played a role in stories of why Santa Claus uses the chimney to sneak into homes.
Fast forward to the Victorian era, and Father Christmas found his way into the hearts of children. Resembling St. Nicholas, Father Christmas wore a hat similar to today’s Santa.
The transition to the contemporary version of Santa Claus – rotund and dressed in red and white clothing – occurred about 150 years ago. In 1881, Santa Claus appeared in an issue of Harper’s Weekly, dressed in the stars and stripes of the American flag as part of an illustration by Thomas Nast. Beforehand, Nast had drawn St. Nick also wearing green. But, he settled on red and white.
Previously, Santa appeared in a red top in “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” aka “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” But, Nast is credited by several historians with the original full red-and-white ensemble.
Rockwell comes into play in 1913, creating a painting of Santa Claus dressed in red and white for “Boy’s Life” magazine. However, Rockwell’s Santa was thin. Eight years later, he painted Santa as the heavier character we know today.
Coca-Cola’s influence
Then, in 1931, Coca-Cola launched their version of Santa Claus. It became a lesson in marketing.
Coca-Cola’s advertising team, seeking ways to improve winter sales, hired Haddon Sundblom to create the soda company’s image of the jolly old elf. His illustrations – stretching more than three decades – solidified the relationship between Coke and Santa Claus.
Striking gold, Coke ads depicted Santa delivering toys, pausing to read a letter and enjoy a Coke, visiting with children who stayed up to greet him and grabbing a soda from people’s refrigerators.
The Coke/Santa marvel has created all kinds of soda-related memorabilia, including ornaments, stuffed animals, serving trays, T-shirts, sweatshirts, nutcrackers and music boxes.
Over the last century, Coke became synonymous with Santa Claus and Christmas. Contemporary marketing added polar bears and penguins enjoying a bottle of Coca-Cola with Santa.
While urban legends credited Coke with inventing Santa’s modern outfit, the company acknowledged almost 20 years ago that Nast was the creator of the red-and-white outfit, according to an article on ripleys.com.
“Actually, we do not claim the color of Santa’s coat, though it has worked out well for us since red is so closely related to Coca-Cola,” said Phil Mooney, then-director of Coca-Cola Company’s Archives Department. “But we did not come up with the idea of putting Santa in red clothes.”
Sundblom drew inspiration from previous works, including “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” Mooney said in 2008.
While Coke officials acknowledged they didn’t create the current costume, they’ve enjoyed the benefit of the legend, which continues to be shared around the United States.
So, whether you enjoy a Coca-Cola or another soda with your holiday snack or meal, remember that Santa’s outfit had nothing to do with the soda, but advertising gurus wouldn’t mind if you continued spreading the urban legend of Coke creating Santa’s look.
Happy Holidays!
